Bthey oratorical jousts, this Tuesday, December 3, in front of the Mons judges. The timeless and no less tense subject of defamation fueled the debates.
On the one hand, Arnaud Tauzin, the mayor of Saint-Sever, denounces the remarks made by his counterpart from Mant, Michel Prugue, during a Community Council held in Samadet in June 2023. “I am accused of embezzlement and of flouting the laws of the Republic. This is false! I challenge you to find that I have done something illegal. We did this with the aim of dirtying me, of harming me,” protests Arnaud Tauzin.
On the other hand, Michel Prugue read a “defamatory” letter written by Claude Pégol. The latter, 76-year-old retired, owned land in Saint-Sever. “I agreed to sell it to the Chalosse Tursan Community of Communes to put in a media library. The project appealed to me,” he explains at the helm.
Political quarrels or real project? The mayor of Les Républicains de Saint-Sever decides to preempt the land from the president of Modem de Chalosse Tursan, Pascale Requenna. For eighteen months, the project dragged on. Until June 22, 2023, where the president informs the Council of the acquisition of said land.
Fiendish accusations
“Except that Mr. Tauzin refutes the finalization of this purchase by saying that it was promised to him,” recalls Michel Prugue, in charge of finances. I wanted to prove to the Council that there was no longer any agreement between Mr. Pégol and Mr. Tauzin, and even rather a big disagreement. He therefore read the letter that Claude Pégol had sent everywhere. The retiree adds: “My letter was not intended to be public. I just wanted Mr. Tauzin to have a reminder of the law, without coming here to bore you with this matter. »
Me Sagardoytho, for Arnaud Tauzin, pleads: “These are vicious accusations, launched gratuitously without being able to react. It's not based on any facts. We are far from a pen error, an inconsiderate word or a value judgment. We simply wanted to pillory him. » In the process, he requested 8,000 euros in compensation for moral damage. “Send a slander, there will always be something left,” regrets the Pau lawyer.
“A ticklish ego”
Defending the interests of Claude Pégol, Me Jean-Baptiste Bordas refutes any complicity since “there was no contact between my client and Mr. Prugue. They don't know each other. In this letter, there are strong criticisms, value judgments, but no insults,” he certifies. In his letter, the retiree denounces “the disrespect of the obligations that the mayor had, after having used his right of pre-emption”. In total, 4,000 euros are requested in compensation under this procedure deemed “abusive”.
“It is the prerogative of the cowards and the weak”
More acerbic in these remarks, Me Charles Dufranc, for Michel Prugue, reproaches “the fragile Mr. Tauzin for his lack of haughtiness when he asks the court to judge what is allowed or not allowed to be said. All because he has a ticklish ego.” He continues: “There is nothing serious in this story. The ban on political debate is the prerogative of the cowardly and the weak. By wanting to gag your opponent, you provide him with greater publicity. » 10,000 euros are claimed from him.
The decision was reserved. It must be returned on February 11.
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